ASTRAL TRAVEL

Astral travel is the experience of a person’s soul/consciousness leaving their physical body at will and under their control to explore different places and dimensions. Since the body is left behind in astral travel, physical objects (such as walls and doors) and distances do not pose a barrier. Once achieved, it is a skill that can be developed over time. In fact, all of us partially experience this unknowingly during our dreams every night. During sleep, lucid dreaming (where a person is aware they are dreaming and can control their dream) and astral travel stages intertwine. Astral travel takes place between sleep and wakefulness and is carried out with full awareness.

The Monroe Institute, which has scientifically studied astral practices, has been training hundreds of students annually in the U.S. for 45 years, helping them develop their abilities. I highly recommend the books of Robert A. Monroe, the institute's founder (who lived between 1915 and 1995), to all interested readers. His book Journeys Out of the Body provides highly detailed and educational insights into the subject.

There are certain techniques believed to facilitate astral travel. For example, refraining from consuming heavy and animal-based foods, as well as abstaining from carnal desires for an extended period, is said to help. Additionally, practicing focused concentration exercises and specific rituals is recommended. One such method involves imagining yourself on a swing moving towards a mirror and visualizing yourself passing through it. Another suggested technique involves a relaxation meditation while lying down, starting from the toes and gradually moving upward toward the head, allowing the body to become completely numb step by step.

At the Reiki School, we are taught that the preferred form of astral travel is not through the mind but through the heart, and this is the level one should strive to reach. May Almighty Allah grant this experience to those who seek it. Astral travel through the mind is easier to achieve through practice, but the mind can be deceptive, creating illusions, tricks, and even hallucinations of non-existent beings. For astral travel through the heart, the right time must come naturally—it cannot be forced, even with effort. Additionally, one must learn how to protect themselves during the experience, which is particularly challenging when done through the mind.

"The soul sets its horses free without a saddle; This secret is the twin of death, the secret itself. But for the return of daylight, it binds its feet with a long rope. The soul is hidden like a lining in the void, While the body keeps turning under the quilt. You possess a body without a body."— Hz. Mevlana